The new card offers the highest sign-up bonus of any Southwest card — although it's staggered and has fairly steep requirements — as well as a few benefits that should be extremely useful for frequent Southwest flyers, including an annual $75 travel credit, up to four Upgraded Boarding certificates per year, 7,500 bonus anniversary points each year, and 20% back on in-flight purchases.

However, Southwest and Chase still have two other credit cards — the Rapid Rewards Plus card and the Rapid Rewards Premier. While most other airlines offer a suite of perks on their credit cards — particularly, early boarding so you can secure overhead bin access and free checked bags — Southwest already offers free checked bags to each passenger, so these perks aren't as necessary.

With so many alliterative card options, figuring out which is best for you can be a bit confusing. Here's a breakdown of the three cards.

Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus Credit Card

The Rapid Rewards Plus is the base-level of the three Southwest cards. However, just because it's a bit less featured than its bigger siblings doesn't mean it's a bad option.

In terms of the sign-up bonus, the card offers a useful 40,000 Rapid Rewards points when you spend $1,000 in the first three months after opening your account. You'll also get 3,000 bonus points each year on your card member anniversary.

The card earns 2x points per dollar spent on Southwest purchases, and 1x point per dollar on everything else.

That's essentially the gist of this card — there's not too much to it. There are, however, a couple of things worth noting.

It has a $69 annual fee that isn't waived the first year. Of course, the sign-up bonus goes a long way toward making up for that, while the anniversary points help each year after.

All in all, while the Plus card has the lowest annual fee, it doesn't offer a ton of value after the first year. If you want to earn Southwest points on your credit card, but absolutely want to pay the lowest possible annual fee, then this card is probably the best option. However, if you're ok paying a higher annual fee, but getting a more value from the card than you pay in the annual fee, you're better off considering one of the other two.

Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Credit Card

While the card has an identical sign-up bonus offer — 40,000 points after spending $1,000 in the first three months — it offers 6,000 anniversary points instead of 3,000.

It also offers the ability to earn tier qualifying points, which count toward elite "A-list" status. You'll earn 1,500 tier points each time you spend $10,000 within a calendar year, up to $100,000 (or 15,000 tier points) per year.

Otherwise, the biggest appeal of the Premier over the Plus is that it doesn't have foreign transaction fees, while the Plus does — if you use your Plus abroad, you'll be charged an extra 3% on every purchase.

The Premier's annual fee is $99, compared to the $69 fee on the Plus, but the extra anniversary points should generally cover that increase.

Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Credit Card

Generally, though, the Priority is the best option if you're a Southwest flyer.

That's because even though it has the highest fee — $149 — it offers at least that much in value each year, effectively cancelling out the fee.

The Priority offers 7,500 bonus anniversary points each year, as well as an annual $75 Southwest travel credit, which can be applied to purchases like flights. Assuming that Southwest points are worth 1¢ each — although you can usually get more value than that — that means that you're getting $150 of value each year just from these two benefits, which cancels out the annual fee.

The card also has a few other benefits, including up to four Upgraded Boarding certificates each year, meaning you can board earlier and choose your seat. You'll also get 20% back on in-flight purchases, and the same ability to earn tier qualifying points as the Premier card.

Ultimately, as long as you're willing to front the money for the annual fee, the Priority card pays for itself.

However, if you're absolutely set against the higher fee, the Plus and the Priority can be good options as well.

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